Breast Implants: Q&A
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6 Years Post Breast Implants: Do I Have a Leak?
I have had my implants for 6 years and have gone thru a pregnancy with them. My son is now 2 and about 4 months ago he kicked me really hard in my right breast. Since then, I have been very sore and I feel like my right breast has dropped a little and my rippling in that side seems worse.
I have noticed since my pregnancy that my breasts have dropped and they feel like they are pushing a bit under my armpit. After the kicking I'm just wondering if I am having a slow leak. I just can't tell.
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11 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
myahd9876
in Roseburg, OR
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Expanding midline cleavage with breast implants
Saline implant leakage is usually externally visible. Silicone implants may exhibit a silent rupture in which there are no physical signs of rupture. In your case, it appears that your implants have laterally displaced thus causing you to lose midline cleavage. Exchange of your implants with capsulotomy may help.
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Saline implant leaks are obvious
If you have a leak in a saline implant, eventually all of the saline will leak out of the implant which will then go completely flat. You would then typically have a dramatic decrease in the size of that breast; therefore, the leak will be obvious. It is harder to tell when a silicone implant leaks as essentially all of the silicone stays within the capsule around the implant and there is very little change in the size of the breast. Based on your pictures, you appear to be fairly equal in...
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Evaluation for Implant Leak
Saline implants will deflate and appear smaller if a leak develops.
A leak in a silicone implant won't show a change in breast size. Getting an MRI is the best way to check for a silicone implant leak.
Some of the changes you describe are not uncommon after pregnancy: change in shape, drape, drooping, rippling, position, including excess motion toward the armpits. These changes can be improved with surgery.
Consult with your plastic surgeon to determine your best options.
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Implant leak?
If they are saline implants, I don't think you have a leak. If they are gel and you have a change in the way they look and feel after trauma, I would recommend imaging to assess implant integrity. MRI is the gold standard.
Lisa Lynn Sowder, M.D.
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Leaking Implants?
There are two types of implants saline or silicone gel. Saline implants, if they have a leak they will disappear in a very short period of time and there will be no implant palpable. Silicone gel implants, if they leak, they do not declare themselves with volume loss. In the case of the patient displayed in the photograph, the patient was pregnant. After the pregnancy she did develop some droopiness of her breast that is evident more on the left side and increased rippling may be a sign that...
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Breast implant leak
It's pretty unlikely that you have a leak, since you should have noticed a significant change in size over a short time (if they're saline). If they are silicone gel implants, a rupture can lead to capsular contracture, which may cause rippling early in the process. With gel implants the only way to check is with an MRI.
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Leaking Breast Implants
You failed to mention if yo have saline or silicone implants. I am assuming that your implants are saline. If so, I do not think that you have a leak. I think that the most likely cause of the appearance of your breasts is the effect of pregnancy. The best way to determine a leak in silicone implants is with an MRI but it is not 100% reliable.
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Detecting a leak in a saline breast implant
If your breast implants are six years old you must have a saline breast implant if your implants were placed in the US as the gels were not yet available. A leak in a saline breast implant, even a slow one, will result in dramatic loss of volume over a matter of days. The difference will not be subtle. It is not unusual to have some increase in laxity and ripple of an implant after pregnancy.
Best of luck,
peterejohnsonmd
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How to detect a leak in the implant
If these are saline implants, once a leak develops, more saline will escape and the implant will continue to get smaller. In a silicone implant, the leakage can be really slow and an MRI scan is often necessary to detect a small leak.
From your description it seems unlikely that there is a leak (assuming you have saline implants). It is common to have some atrophy or shrinking of breast tissue and some changes in the position and/or appearance of the implants. If the changes are...
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Your implants are not leaking
Your implants are not leaking. You have the normal changes that happens to the implants after pregnancy. You will need pocket revision and possible lift.
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